The new era of Toronto Maple Leafs hockey has officially started, and they’ve welcomed first overall pick Gavin McKenna to the organization after the historic selection was made on Friday evening on the opening day of the 2026 NHL Draft.
Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka, who took over from the fired Brad Treliving earlier this offseason, has already made multiple additional moves since arriving in town, starting with the removal of head coach Craig Berube and subsequent hiring of Jim Hiller to fill his vacated role. Additionally, he traded goaltender Joseph Woll to the Philadelphia Flyers for Samuel Ersson, who has since been traded to the Ottawa Senators.
On Saturday, Chayka also traded defenseman Brandon Carlo, who was acquired at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, to the St. Louis Blues, meaning that there is a gap on the Leafs’ blue line. But could that gap be filled by one of two recent Norris Trophy winning defensemen?
The Toronto Maple Leafs Have Been Linked To Former Norris Trophy Winners Roman Josi And Zach Werenski
Recently, Maple Leafs Insider Jeff Marek wondered aloud if John Chayka could show interest in Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi:
“If you’re John Chayka here, you want to re-do the blueline, and we all know what’s happening at Nashville, they’ve gone as far as they can with this lineup … (With a new GM) we don’t know how deep a rebuild this is going to be,” Marek said. “Now if you’re Roman Josi, do you want to hang around longer for this? Or do you want to put yourself in a better situation where you can maximize your potential and get back into a playoff race?”
Josi took home the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL in 2020 after posting career-high numbers for the Predators, who have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in consecutive seasons.
What’s more, the Maple Leafs have been suggested as a potential landing spot for current Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who could soon be on the move from the club that has only made the playoffs six times since entering the NHL as an expansion club in 2000-01.
NHL Insider Nick Kypreos recently floated the possibility of the Maple Leafs using veteran Morgan Rielly as trade bait in a potential Werenski deal:
“Would a deal around Matthew Knies and Colorado’s 2027 first-round pick be a good place to start?” Kypreos wrote. “Does prospect defenceman Ben Danford excite anyone after his performance in the Calder Cup playoffs? Would the Jackets want to explore having Rielly in this package?”
Does Roman Josi Or Zach Werenski Make More Sense For The Maple Leafs?
Currently, Josi has two years left on his contract with a salary cap hit of $9,059,000, while Werenski is also signed for two more years with a similar $9,583,333 cap hit.
Werenski is only 29 and is still in the prime of his career, while Josi is 36 with his best seasons behind him.
Still, an acquisition of either player would go a long way in making the Maple Leafs contenders again.
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